Ange Postecoglou could make as many as eight changes when his side host Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (21 September).
Postecoglou rotated his team heavily for the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (18 September).
In the end, it almost cost the Australian, with Spurs riding their luck and scoring two late goals to secure a 2-1 win away against EFL Championship side Coventry City.
Many of the fringe players who were handed an opportunity in the cup did very little to impress.
Therefore, it is likely that Postecoglou will once again make a host of changes as Tottenham return to Premier League action against the Bees.
Ange Postecoglou to make eight changes for Tottenham v Brentford
Guglielmo Vicario has come under fire in recent weeks. Therefore, Fraser Forster had a fantastic opportunity to stake his claim in the Spurs team.
However, he did nothing to impress, making one error which led to a shot during an overall shaky performance (Sofascore). As a result, Vicario will likely return against Brentford.
In defence, Ben Davies was the hero for Tottenham after Forster’s mistake, clearing the ball off the line in dramatic fashion. However, the Welshman and Radu Drăguşin – who started alongside Davies at centre-back – are both still likely to make way for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
Archie Gray didn’t put much of a foot wrong on his full debut for Spurs, completing 91 per cent of his passes and winning 100 per cent of his ground duels. However, he will still likely be replaced by first-choice right-back Pedro Porro.
Destiny Udogie was replaced by eventual goalscorer Djed Spence at half-time, despite a relatively positive showing in which he made a clearance off the line and won five of his six ground duels. Despite Spence’s impact, Udogie is still likely to keep his place at left-back against Brentford.
In midfield, Lucas Bergvall could make way for James Maddison. Unlike Gray, Bergvall wasn’t at his best in his full Tottenham debut, making one error which led to a shot, winning just three of his eight ground duels and providing just one accurate cross from five attempts.
Alongside Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr will likely keep their places, with the fitness of Yves Bissouma still unclear.
Ange Postecoglou to axe Dominic Solanke for Tottenham v Brentford?
The front three is where Postecoglou could make some big calls.
Brennan Johnson stepped off the bench to score the winner against Coventry City, and will likely come in for Wilson Odobert, who went off injured in the first half with what Postecoglou has described as a “fairly significant” issue (via The Standard, 19 September).
Johnson succeded with 100 per cent of his dribble attempts and won 100 per cent of his ground duels after replacing Odobert, while also scoring in stoppage time to spare Spurs’ blushes.
Son Heung-min will expect to return and could feature on the left in place of Timo Werner. The German also went off injured after an underwhelming display in which he made an error which led to a shot, was unsuccessful with all three of his dribble attempts and gave possession away 14 times.
However, it is in the number nine position where Postecoglou could make his biggest call. Dominic Solanke was poor against Coventry City, failing to have a shot at goal, succeeding with just 50 per cent of his dribble attempts and having just 24 touches of the ball.
Meanwhile, Dejan Kulusevski changed the game off the bench, providing the assist for Spence’s equaliser. The Swede featured through the middle in pre-season, and Postecoglou could look to hand him another opportunity in this role against Brentford.
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